The Runaway
by Exo-Politics522
Summary: Johnny didn't die. He is slowly recovering from his injuries in the hospital and is to be released from the hospital in one week from the night of the rumble. One night, his father takes it too far, and Johnny does something about it for the first time.
1. A visitor

**So my friends were making up OC ****Outsiders**** fanfiction during lunch at school a while ago, and it inspired me to write this, so… Kudos to you guys! Enjoy, and tell me what you think. This fanfic is mainly about Johnny, and what I think would happen if he did not die from his injuries in the book. This is taken from Johnny's point of view.**

** I don't own anything, but I wish I did. :P **

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Mother wanted to see me today. She kept coming to the hospital, and I could hear her screaming at the staff every day. Why wouldn't she just go away? She would only scream at me for causing her so much trouble and embarrassment.

Of course, the gang were the only people who ever cared about me. The only time father notices me is when he's beatin' up on me. My back… It feels better, but it still hurts like crazy. Ponyboy and Two-bit visited me two days ago, and they got me a copy of Gone With the Wind. At least I have something to do now, other than just lying down on my stomach on this stupid gurney all day.

Ponyboy read some of this book to me when we were at the abandoned church on Jay Mountain. That was the only time I went somewhere outside of this neighborhood… The only time I had ever gotten out of this God-forsaken place. Day by day, I was getting a little better, but the doctor said that it would be at least another two weeks until I could be released. I ain't no doctor, but… At least, as far as they know, I'm not going to die. I used to talk about dying all the time, and I actually wanted to. But now I didn't. Sixteen years isn't long enough to live. It's too short… Too short…

Dally entered my hospital room. I always kind of admired Dally. I could hear him shouting at some nurse a while ago… Probably didn't want to go to sleep when they wanted him to.

"Hey, Johnny, feelin' all right?" he asked.

"Still feelin' terrible, but I'm gettin' better day by day, Dal."

"Big rumble two nights ago… We won."

"How d'you know?"

He grinned. "Ran away from the hospital… I ain't stayin' in this hell-hole forever. I couldn't use my left arm, but I'm a rightie anyway. They ran away! Those little wimps! I can't believe they ran! We beat them pretty badly… Pony's not too good, though, I hear."

That caught my attention. Ponyboy was my best friend. "What? Is he okay?!"

Dally shrugged. "Darry said he had a minor concussion, but what do I know? I ain't a doc."

For the first time, I wanted something bad to happen to Dallas Winston. I hate fighting. I hate it, and I hate any act of violence. I always respected Dally, but why did he have to be such a jerk sometimes? Then, suddenly, I had to feel angry at myself. He was one of the only people that cared about me.

"I wanna see Pony," I mumbled.

He shrugged. "I'm gonna call Darry, man. Hospitals are boring! I want out!"

Well, that was an understatement. I was still worried about Ponyboy and the rest of the gang. Some of them were surely hurt from the rumble. I mean, most of us were short and scrawny. The best fighters were Darry and probaby Dally. Dally, because he had experience in gang fights. Darry, because, well, look at that guy! He's huge! He's all muscle.

Either way, I wanted to see the people that were like family to me. Was Soda okay? And what about Darry? Two-bit? Steve? I want to get out of this place.

"Dal!" I called hoarsely.

He stood still in the doorway. "Yeah, Johnny?"

"Where is Pony now?"

"Right across the hall."


	2. Nothing Gold Can Stay

**Like I said, I don't own anything.**

"Can you get Pony for me, Dal?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Sure, Johnny, but I ain't gonna stand here and watch your little lovefest, 'kay? I'm gonna call Darry, like I said."

He left, and moments later, Ponyboy entered. Oh, man, he looked awful. His face… His face was covered in bruises, and he looked… He just looked awful.

"Hey, Johnny, you looked like you just saw a ghost," he joked.

"Pony…. Glory, why did you go to that rumble?" I wasn't the type to be angry at anyone for a long period of time, and heck, it took a lot for me to stay angry at someone very long, but I was angry at whoever let Ponyboy join the rumble.

"You know I always go to a rumble if there's one."

"That doesn't mean that you won't come out of it alive!" I tried to make my voice sound angry and full of concern for once, but it only came out hoarse, as a whisper.

"I told you there weren't gonna be any weapons used."

"Doesn't matter, Pony!"

It took a lot of strength for me to yell right now. I never yelled at Ponyboy before. But now I had to. What if I lost him? He was one of the few most important people to me. He couldn't die. Not now. He was only fourteen. I didn't want him risking his life like that. I didn't want anyone I cared about risking their life like that.

"You sound like Darry," he said darkly.

Oh, not this again. "Darry only yelled at you 'cause he cared."

"He didn't yell at Soda."

"He yelled at you because you're his youngest brother, Pony."

Ponyboy's face darkened with fury. He still didn't get it, did he? Darry only yelled at him because he cared. He still didn't know that? I decided to change the subject. Who was I to tell him that?

"Did Dally talk to you?" I asked.

"'bout what?"

I tried my best to shrug. "I dunno."

"He just said you asked for me."

"Oh. So how are y'all? Darry, Two-bit, Steve? Soda and Sandy?"

"Sandy left Soda," he said curtly."

What? I saw the way Sandy looked at Sodapop… Her blue eyes would glow in admiration whenever she looked at him. Soda bragged, and was pretty rough with just about anything, but not Sandy… No, never Sandy. He loved her, and I was pretty sure he'd die for her. And she leaves him? Soda was so kind to her….

"Oh," I breathed, "that must've been so hard on Soda."

He nodded. "It was. Soda loved her…"

"Darry's gonna be here, ain't he?"

"Yeah."

"I wanna talk to him."

Personally, I wanted to talk to Darry and ask him what was really going on. Like, if Ponyboy was going to go to a boys' home… I hoped not. I also wanted to ask him when the trial was.

"Why?"

"I just wanna."

"'Kay. Are you gonna be in a wheelchair, Johnny?"

I tried to shrug. "I dunno. I hope not."

"So do I."

I hated the thought of being in a wheelchair- and hate was a strong word. Sure, people already saw me to be weak, but to the point where I can't even defend myself? No way. I didn't want to be that weak and fragile.

My pa is gonna hurt me somethin' awful when I get home from the hospital. At least he'll know that I'm home… Glory, the Curtis' house was more of a home to me. Even the lot was. My parents' house wasn't what I'd call home. I almost flinched, remembering the sharp fingernails digging into my now black, blue, and purple arms.

Mother will be most angry with me. She'll yell at me for all the wrongs things I'd done, and for causin' her and pa so many problems. She'd yell, and pa would hit and yell at the same time. Or worse, they would hit and yell at each other. I hate any kind of violence. I always had. And I've been scared as heck of any gangs since I was attacked by those socs… That Bob guy gave me some nasty scar on my face.

"How's your back, Johnny?" Ponyboy asked me.

I winced as I moved a little. "It hurts somethin' awful, Pony…."

He frowned. "Other than that, are you all right?"

"Yup."

Darry poked his head through the doorway. "Hey, y'all, Darry's gonna be here with the rest of the gang in a few minutes."

"Sure, Dal," I said faintly.

"Johnny? You all right?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Hey, dally, you have a cancer stick?" Ponyboy asked.

"Yeah, Pony, hang on a sec."

Dally dug into his pockets and took out a cigarette and a lighter. He lit up the cigarette, and handed it to Ponyboy. Glory, you'd think they wouldn't smoke in a hospital. I gaped at them.

"What's wrong, Johnny?" Dally asked.

I felt my lip tremble. "W-we're in a hospital…"

I'd been told that I was the one that abided by the law most of the time in the gang. Well, I broke that record that one night when Ponyboy and I ran away… But it was only… It was strictly in self-defense. They would've killed Ponyboy if I didn't do anything about it.

"Man, I'm bored," Dally drawled. "I think I'm gonna go pick on some of those nurses. I guess I'll see y'all later." Then he left.

"Pony? You know that poem you told me about? That one by that Frost guy?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Frost was right…." _Nothing gold can stay._


End file.
